A birthday gathering in Fordyce, Arkansas, on the morning of Sunday, February 1, 2026, ended with the fatal shooting of Jerron Lucus Sr. Responding officers found Lucus Sr. with gunshot injuries and he was pronounced dead at the scene. The victim’s age and ethnicity have not been released.

The Fordyce Police Department and the Dallas County Sheriff’s Office opened an immediate homicide investigation. Investigators reported limited cooperation from people who attended the party, and the Arkansas State Police Criminal Investigation Division was asked to assist. Authorities identified a suspect, Ladarius Deshon Johnson of Pine Bluff, and a warrant was issued; Johnson was arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service and moved to a detention facility outside Dallas County because a family member of the victim was in the local jail. No motive or formal charges have been publicly detailed and the investigation remains ongoing.

Did anyone at the gathering or nearby that morning see or hear anything that could help the investigation?